Week 26, Day 4

breakfast: breakfast burritos (thank goodness Jason is willing to make and wrap them in the early morning hours before the swim meet)

Lunch: McD's as we were on our way to camping.  We had brought fruit, leftover pizz and eftover baked ziti to the meet.  People ate pizza and fruit and half the baked ziti.  ON the way we finished off our strawberries and the squash I steamed the night bfore but we didn't eat.  My girls just loved it cold right out of the container as we drove.

Dinner - CAMPING!

Week 26, Day 3

Breakfast: eggs - I ended up buying 5 dozen and then getting four dozen separately in stryrofam for camping so we had close to too many

Lunch: Cress and Jason were at his office today and he packed them burritos. I made ramen for Daitarih, Phyllis and her little friend, Ryan who came to play.  I sa;so served it with sliced cucumbers and bell peppers - one green and one red.  I put leftover pease in the ramen.  But the kids hardly ate becuase we had to go to Activity Days shortly after they were served and they were also trying to watch a movie so left the table quickly.

Dinner: Homemade pepperoni pizza.  Dai made the dough.  We cooked it a little too long.  

Week 26, Day 2

Breakfast: hash browns, fried eggs, toast - we used up the last of the light rye and Cress had a piece of wheat bread toast instead

Lunch: Phyllis had leftover chicken salad on a toasted hamburger bun.  I am having goat cheese on crackers and the tiny bit of remaining chicken salad.  Cress was late to a birthday party (because I wrote the time down wrong) so she got nothing really for lunch.  Poor girls, from there she went straight to gym on only cake.  But Jason took her pickles when he went to pick her up from gym and then get the CSA - she'll probably eat from that, too

Dinner:  Baked ziti.  I was supposed to make pizza dough using the bread machine but the recipe called for bread flour - and I didn't feel like going to the store.  We also steamed a large zucchini that our neighbor, Steve Arnold, gave us from his daughter's garden.  Zucchini are sneaky,  They are huge plants with large leaves but you want to pick the fruit when it is small - and it is basically the same color as the leaves.  So, these occasional biggies are practically inevitable.  Jicama - it had been in the fridge for a few days.

For dessert we had leftover birthday cake from Heather Castro and ice-cream (ours.)

Prep Ahead: potatoes for camping.  Dai woke at 5:50 (she wakes when it is light) and went to peeling the potatoes.  I told her that she could in the morning but not to wake me before 6:30.  Then I helped her dice them and we boiled them and vacuum packed them and froze them for camping.

At Costco a couple of days ago, I saw shredded dried potatoes for sale and thought about how convenient that would be for camping - but I decided against it since I already had potatoes at home and aren't we trying to get away from additives?  Maybe they were just dried, but probably not.  I did buy bread though for this and the last trip - worth the convenience.

Also peeled and cut up some carrots.  Truthfully, Phyllis peeled them.  She asked, "How many?" I just said, "Keep going," and Dai said, "You know how we are - we'll eat any that don't fit in the container tonight."  True to their word, before I was even done cutting them they were snatching them up gratefully - which was good because I just barely fit the rest in the container.  

Week 26, Day 1

Breakfast: Fried eggs and toast and canned apricots

Lunch: Chicken salad and ants on the log, which is celery with peanut butter and raisins on it

Dinner: Cheaty pasta - with green beans and garlic sauteed in butter and paprika.  I use a bottle of Alfredo sauce, whatever vegetable I have on hand and whatever pasta I have around - this time shells. My kids love it, I consider it an "in a pinch" meal.  We also had a salad with grape tomatoes and English cucumbers.  Dessert was ice-cream.  Rocky road and butter pecan - quite a switch up - usully it is something chocolate (like rocky road or chocolate fudge) and mint chip - unless we are paying full price, then we often just get one.

Prep Ahead: gringa beans for camping

Week 25, Day 7

Breakfast: rice cereal, rye toast, mangoes

Lunch: egg salad sandwiches, carrot sticks, fresh green beans

Dinner: hamburgers, deviled eggs, grilled zucchini and some Martinelli's that had been in our pantry since who knows when so we chilled it for dinner

Prep Ahead: Baked bacon for camping - then vacuumed and froze it.  Also, the pork meat for burritos - vacuumed and frozen for camping.  

Week 25, Day 6

Breakfast: rice cereal - Jason reminded me last night that we hadn't been using our brown rice, so I told him I would do rice cereal for breakfast today.  But, I forgot to start it before going to bed.  He gets up pretty early to go to work and started it for me.  Isn't that sweet?  I ate the leftover green chile egg casserole from Friday.

Lunch: Jason took bean burritos and cut up carrot sticks.  we had leftover carrot fennel soup with church bread toast - Dai had some of her baguette the rest of us had a light rye Phyllis got thinking it was sour dough.

Dinner: fried eggs, light rye toast and apricots

Week 25, Day 5

breakfast: breakfast burritos with tomatoes and shredded zucchini in them because we had it in the fridge - this did not please Phyllis.

lunch: leftovers and church bread, of course

dinner: yogurt waffles, bacon and cucumbers with chocolate bundt cake for dessert.

When I went to the grocery store Friday morning to get cottage cheese, I accidentally got yogurt, but I didn't notice until I got home and started to open it.  Jason was a little concerned when he opened it and the plastic was partially loosened but I assured him that I did it.  We made two batches - one a multi-grain and one plain white flour.  The Castro family joined us.  They brought a pound of cooked bacon and we did  a pound in the oven.  They also brought the white flour, strawberries and their waffle iron. Sergio and Jason did the actual waffle cooking.  Jason made both mixes.

Week 25, Day 4

Breakfast: hot chocolate, breakfast burritos, apricots, strawberries and grape at the swim meet.

Lunch: Taco Bell en route to Raging Waters

Dinner: New England boiled dinner.  Lane came with us to Raging Waters and then came to our house afterwards to get a run down on the house sitting he is doing for us when we go to Germany.  One of my kids asked what was for dinner (still at the park) and I replied that it was either going to be bean burritos or New England boiled dinner.  Lane lit up at the mention of New England boiled dinner, so that was what I made.

It still isn't Jason's favorite.  He says, "I just don't understand why have this over pot roast which has basically the same ingredients but real meat?"  (I do use canned corned beef in New England boiled dinner.) I relied that it didn't have cabbage (I might add that to my next pot roast, though), was a little lighter flavor and required a longer cooking time. Then we mentioned how my brother, Sam, has commented how he loves my pot roast, so I make an effort to have to when I know he is coming.

I told Jason how New England dinner was just great food - I loved smelling it as it cooked.  I told him it was like comfort food from your childhood, but healthy.  Jason seemed baffled.  I said, like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, but healthy - though it isn't a really good example since I don't love it - in fact, when I occasionally make it for the kids, I think I want a little bit, but when I eat more than a bite or two,  I always get a headache.  Jason said it was just like that - food from my childhood.  I pointed out that it was a reasonable healthy option unlike Mac 'n' Cheese and that was my point - comfort food and still relatively whole food.

It is rewarding to cook for brothers who like my food.  

Week 25, Day 3

Breakfast: green chile zucchini casserole.  I like it a lot served with salsa.  Phyllis seems to like it and Jason thinks it is too wet.  I also cut up mangoes, strawberries, plums and apricots.  The last three we got from CSA.

Lunch: we had a picnic at the Oakland Temple grounds.  Dai and Cress had PBJ's - they are enjoying the homemade grape jelly now.  Phyllis and I had beet wraps - yes, she likes arugula.  We also had strawberries, apples and Oreo cookies.

Dinner: the girls had fennel carrot soup.  Jason and I had a date night with the Castro adults - their treat for the babysitting I did for her for volleyball.  She had received a $100 gift card to Black Angus.  She told us, that meant we could get $25 each and that had to include tip.  So, Jason and I decided ahead of time to split the 8 ounce filet mignon.  She was a little embarrassed when she found out because she had been joking, but ultimately, it as the right amount of food really.  Actually, Jason and I each got a side that we could have passed on and been okay.  We got cheesecake, but it wasn't worth it.  Anyway the whole thing only cost $104 before tip - and she said we were a cheap date - that was nice to hear.

Prep ahead: gringa beans

Week 25, Day 2

Breakfast: fried eggs, hash browns, bacon (leftover from camping but uncooked) and papaya.  Phyllis said she doesn't like papaya, as did Cress, but I dished it for them both.  Cressida decided she liked it after all.  Phyllis still doesn't.

Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich and banana for Dai who went to Monterey with the Castros, beet wrap for me, leftover stroganoff for the girls with apples.

Dinner: leftovers - was supposed to be New England boiled dinner but I had a headache and we did clear out a  lot of leftovers.  Dessert was CSA apricots and yellow raspberries.

Prep ahead: I made carrot fennel soup after the girls went to bed.  I had sliced up and sauteed the fennel and garlic and was in the process of peeling carrots when the power went out.  We used candles and flashlights and it as so peaceful and because we have a gas stove I continued making my soup.  About half an hour later the power came back on and I cut up some of my peeled carrots into carrot sticks to go in a container of water the fridge.  

Week 25, Day 1

breakfast: bananas before swim pictures (which started at 8 AM) and oatmeal and cantaloupe after at about 10.  To be fair, we didn't leave our house until a few minutes after 8 and we walked so we were a bit late but not much.  Just a crazy scene.

lunch: peanut butter sandwiches - Phyllis had honey and the rest of us had grape jelly.  Dai commented that she couldn't wait until we started getting concord grapes again.  It used to be we just didn't knwo exactly what to do with them - but no more! Apples and a cookie from Steve Arnold, our next door neighbor.

Dinner:  City Beach potluck.  We are contributing taco salad.

Week 24, Day 7

breakfast: breakfast burritos, using up the last remnants of cooked bacon and sausage and potatoes from camping and a fresh peach for each of the ladies - Jason ate before we got up so I am unsure if he had one or not.

lunch:  Peanut Butter and jelly for three of us, peanut butter and honey for Phyllis, plus apples, peaches, bananas and brownie cupcakes. We all packed a lunch and went to the Morgan Hill Skate Park.  We ate there.

dinner:  beef stroganoff using a canned stroganoff starter, mushrooms and some of the free tri-tip.  Also a salad.  

Week 24, Day 6

breakfast: grits

lunch: turkey sandwiches with watermelon and peaches - I ate Triscuits with goat cheese because the meat was all gone

dinner: leftover tri-tip, BBQ'd chicken, salad and rolls from someone event but they had so much leftovers they were handing it out at the church.  I made pudding and brownies in cup cake papers with two Oreos in it before baking that were stuck together with peanut butter.  Rich.  I ate half and may not have another.

I got extra beef to make stroganoff.  Hope it works.

Prep ahead: cooked some beets, Jason made mashed chard from his Mexican cookbook that Abuela got him for a birthday, but it called for way too much pepper so that is a no go, e will have to toss it.  Also preparing grilled radicchio salad.  Jason also prepared the kale.

Week 24, Day 5

breakfast: the girls finished off the birthday cereal, Jason and I had grits

lunch: sandwiches on either leftover camp bread or church bread.  afterwards we went to the Castro home where they shared banana bread and we shared watermelon.

dinner: hamburgers.  I was craving big fat burgers.  I wanted about a quarter pound but that would mean more than a one pound package of meat. So we thawed two and invited our neighbor, Steve Arnold, over for dinner.  We also had some CSA squash and canned peas.  I think they were an accidental purchase (I thought they were green beans) but we still have to eat them.  

Camping Week 23, Day 6 (dinner) through Week 24, Day 4

Monday, Day 6

Dinner -  burritos with shredded chicken and pinto beans, Sam added a can of refrieds to my beans when it got low and it thickened our sauce nicely

Tuesday, Day 7

breakfast: oatmeal and Captain Crunch - Phyllis's breakfast cereal choice and honeydew

lunch: sandwiches

dinner: spaghetti and meatballs and green beans from a can (we had way too much noodles and meatballs, but we were able to get folks to come eat at least the rest of the meatballs)

Wednesday, Week 24, Day 1

breakfast: eggs, sausage, home fries

lunch: sandwiches

dinner: tri-tip and rib eye - part of the group grill night

Thursday, Day 2

breakfast: french toast (we used Hawaiian bread.  Two loaves wasn't enough and three was too many so we had plenty to share and I went and told folks, and a few came, but we still had some so I put it on a plate with powdered sugar sprinkled on top and walked to the campfire where people took them, and there wasn't even enough to go around) and honeydew

lunch: sandwiches

dinner: this was the group hobo dinner night but Jason doesn't care for hobo dinners so we did a dutch oven meal so that it was prepared in the same area and stuff.  It was garbanzos, peppers, cannellini beans, sausage.  Was good and the extra was quickly consumed by other campers.

Friday, Day 3

breakfast: breakfast burritos with sausage, bacon, home fries, cheese and eggs and honeydew

lunch: sandwiches

dinner: camp pizza.  First time for this and it came out pretty well.  We used a Boboli crust to begin with.  We tucked it in to the 12 inch cast iron pan which gave it a nice little lip.  We added grilled onions and mild Italian sausage.  Then we topped it with  mix of fontina, provolone and Parmesan and tented it with tinfoil to melt the cheese.  They got a little burned but we learned and definitely reduced burnage on the second one.

Saturday, Day 4
breakfast: pancakes

lunch: McD's en route.  Because Jason and the girls had all gotten up to go skiing while I made pancakes and stuff.  So, I ate much earlier than they did.  I was starving.  Just before we exited, Cress said she was feeling a bit carsick.  Uncle Sam (who also camped with us) said we were just about to stop for lunch so that was okay.  As soon as she got out she threw up everywhere!  Talk about perfect timing.  We also stopped later at Nation's for milkshakes.

dinner: watermelon (we took it camping but never ate it) and burritos with the leftover beans from camping.

Week 23, Day 6

breakfast: fried eggs for Dai, egg sandwich for Phyllis and I and Jason and Cressida had PBJ's (limitd food choices due to camping)

lunch:  McD's en route to camping

Dinner - CAMPING

Week 23, Day 5

breakfast: oatmeal

lunch: leftovers and I had a beet wrap and church bread, as usual

dinner: leftovers, the girls are getting sick of it but we need to clean up the leftovers before camping

Week 23, Day 4

Breakfast: breakfast burritos

Lunch: hot dogs and hamburgers at the swim meet.  Jason ate at the volleyball tournament.

Dinner: leftovers to clean out the fridge for camping

Week 23, Day 3 - Friday

breakfast: oatmeal

lunch: girls packed lunches for school but I can't remember what and I even did it!

dinner: slow cooker cheesy chicken and rice - was so boring.  I was trying it because I pinned it long ago on Pinterest - boring!  Didn't thrill us and didn't thrill the girls.  

Week 23, day 2

Breakfast: oatmeal for the girls.  Jason made me a scramble with the onions and zucchini diced up in the fridge.  Jason ate cold cereal at work, I suspect because he didn't eat here.

Lunch: Cress and Phyllis had leftover Cobre Valley casserole.  Cress had pickles, celery and carrots.  Phyllis has carrots and pickles.  Dai has cherry tomatoes, a Claussen pickle (she doesn't like the gherkins I got this time) and carrots with a ham and Swiss sandwich.  Dai and Phyllis got a marshmallow for dessert.

Dinner: Italian chicken, salad and spaghetti noodles.  I was looking for camping recipes today.  I need to make meatballs ahead of time and went to Pinterest to find the recipe.  I saw how many pins I had and started trying to identify those I have done.  I found the Italian chicken one that I hadn't yet done, but sounded really good.  It has tomatoes, artichoke hearts, basil, garlic over chicken breasts baked and then add mozzarella on top at the tail end.  Serve over your favorite pasta - hence the spaghetti noodles.  Not that it is a favorite but we had it on hand.   Jason doesn't care for artichoke hearts and other than that, it is nothing to write home about so likely will not do again, but it was nice to be trying something new.  The salad was awesome, if I do say so myself.  Jason liked it, too.  It was plain romaine lettuce but I added a cucumber thinly sliced into half moons, CSA radishes sliced the same way, raspberries from the CSA, halved grape tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and goat cheese crumbled on top.  With homemade vinaigrette it was very tasty.  I remembered to do peach iced tea today, too.

Prep ahead: CSA kale, pressure cooked the CSA beets, cooked up the sausage for camp pizzas, boiled eggs to make potato salad, boiled potatoes to make potato salad.  (I hear ideally you should work with cold ingredients so I have pre-boiled stuff the last couple times I have made it.) I diced potatoes up very fine for home fries while camping.  I am cooking those ahead of time, too, but hopefully I do not overcook them as I did the potato salad ones.  I have six chicken breasts cooking in the crock pot for taco burritos while camping.  Maybe I will also take some cooked pintos - though not refrieds, just cooked, seasoned beans.  I also made meatballs. We vacuum packed them and they are freezing right now because they are camping food also.  We are having spaghetti and meatballs one night.  

How we eat is definitely influencing our kids

Yesterday Dai asked if she could contribute to her class's end of year party.  I offered to make peanut butter popcorn.  She said she couldn't have nuts and it couldn't be homemade.  I said that was too bad since I can make some good stuff.

Today after school, I called her in while I was doing dishes.  She was having a rough day, I could tell and I just wanted to hear about it.   She was in a pretty sad mood.  She was upset because she had to play outside and it was too hot.  She was also upset because she had a really heavy backpack because she had to bring everything home today and she just wished her teacher had told her earlier so she could have brought home a little bit each day rather than all at once.  (Methinks she is getting the planning thing!)  I told her the shopping was mostly done and I still had some money so did she have an idea of what she would like to bring to her class?  She replied, sadly, "I don't know. Everything good is homemade!"  Ah, sweetie you just made my day.

As she was clearing the table to set it for dinner (yes, we are still eating in shifts but we are trying to eat in shifts at the table), she saw some Boboli.  She asked what it was for and I told her, "Pizza while camping."  (We have never done this before and we shall see how it goes.)  She asked, "Why doesn't Dad just make pizza dough?"

Later, I went to drop off Dai at gym and pick up Cress from gym.  On the way home, Cress was telling me that she would save her money until she was out of food and then she would buy Top Ramen.  I replied, "I don't think you should wait until you are totally out of food.  Do you see how I shop every week or so, but I still have food in the house?  Also, ramen isn't that healthy."  So she said, "And bananas.  Those are healthy."  I started to explain the need for a well rounded diet when she said, "And I will make bread.  But first I will have to buy some wheat and grind it.  And then if I have enough money left over, I will buy a CSA."

Our kids are definitely being influenced by our food decisions - home cooking, wheat grinding, bread making, CSA!!  Sometimes I wonder if they will only eat white bread when they get older just because they never got it as a kid, but maybe not, huh? Just made my day.

Week 23, Day 1

Breakfast: cracked wheat but there were complaints - even Dai said it seemed too bready

Lunch:  Cress had a pizza party at school today so no lunch.  Dai had ham and Swiss, carrots, celery and pickles. Phyllis had pickles, carrots and celery and Cobre Valley casserole leftovers.  Jason ate leftovers, I ate leftovers.

Dinner: Sirloin tri tip roast (2.25 pounds so we have lots of leftovers), Chinese chicken napa cabbage salad, fried potatoes.  The younger two girls love the salad - Dai doesn't like it at all but she couldn't say enough good things about the potatoes.

Root beer whirls for dessert again.  But yesterday I used a recipe - 3 cups vanilla ice-cream to 1 cup of root beer.  Today I used the rest of the ice-cream, maybe 4 cups and a full can of root beer (leftover from camping.)  Phyllis likes the extra root beer.

I brought Jason a beer after the kids went to bed last night.  Actually, I had put one in the freezer and two in the fridge since they were all warm.  I set a timer for the one in the freezer and took it to him when it was cold. Tonight he got out his own beer (one of the two I put in yesterday) and I asked, "Does beer make you feel good?  Fell relaxed?"  He said, "It makes me feel loved because my wife bought me beer."  I don't drink and wish he was LDS, too, which would mean he didn't drink, but I do buy him beer for parties and camping and such.  I guess because I usually do it without his asking and I get his preferred beer (New Castle), that makes him think I put his desires ahead of mine.  I am totally speculating - he didn't say that part.

I realized last night that I have come to really like the smell of New Castle.  It never smelled bad - decent for beer - but because it is his beer, I think I particularly like the smell.  I think of him when I smell it.  I think of evenings spent with him because I always get more than is strictly needed for whatever event so he has it for a few days afterwards - depends on how many he consumes each night.  

Week 22, Day 7

Breakfast: burritos all around and a scramble for me.  Phyllis had a banana.  Cress, Dai and I had mangoes.

Lunch: Dai had a boiled egg and graham crackers on the side.  Phyllis has a PBJ on the last of the bread.  Phyllis has  peanut butter on graham cracker sandwich.  Cress had mango, carrots and pickles. Dai has carrots and cherry tomatoes. Kind of a lot of each.  Phyllis has an apple, carrots and pickles. Phyllis also has  quesadilla for before volleyball practice since she goes straight from school.  They all got one marshmallow for dessert.  A little stale - the leftovers from Phyllis and Jason camping trip.  I had leftover salad.  Jason took burritos (from leftover taco beans) and carrot sticks.

Dinner: Cobre valley casserole and salad

Prep ahead: made bread, soaked cracked wheat for breakfast tomorrow.  After you grind fine flour for awhile, the stones get full of powder and less efficient.  This is when you put a new bowl in front and make a coarse grind for awhile.  Then sift out the finer stuff and grind and you continue on making flour on a fine grind.  

Week 22, Day 6

Breakfast: Jason made burritos for Cress and he.  He made me a scramble with the onions and zucchini I prepared Friday night.  Dai and Phyllis

Lunch:  Cressida had a PBJ - she loves the strawberry freezer jam my visiting teacher made us.  She had apples, carrots and celery.  Dai and Phyllis had a boiled egg.  Phyllis and Dai had carrots, a banana and an apple.

Dinner: I made the fennel frittata with the sauteed stuff I started earlier.  We also had a slew of leftovers. We had the missionaries.  We told them they got to eat leftovers with us.  They were gracious but I think not thrilled.   The girls had popsicles for dessert.  

Week 22, Day 5

FAST SUNDAY

Phyllis and Jason are still camping and she is not fasting.  She is having grits for breakfast and meat sandwiches for lunch.

Breakfast: Cressida had oatmeal and a mango

Lunch: Cress had goldfish at church so she decided to skip lunch.  She said, "It feels good fasting lunch."  I am glad she looks forward to when she fasts, but I had to explain fasting was different than skipping a meal because you just ate a lot of goldfish and aren't hungry.

Dinner: We BBQ'd at my Dad's.  He did chicken on the grill and Susan made a coleslaw and a broccoli salad and corn muffins.  My girls loved them but they just seemed sweet to me - I guess I have really fallen for Southern cornbread which has no sugar added.